The Best of the Week in Panels – 03.13.2013

If what doesn’t kill us is making us panels
We’re gonna last longer
Like the Great panels of China
Or those panels with the drum
If there’s one thing that I learned
While waiting for panels’ turn
Is that in each life some panels fall
But you also get some panels.
And we’ll make out better than okay
Hear what I say
Yeah, any day

Batman #18

Not just a welcome cameo by Alex Maleev, this might be the best interior art he’s offered up in some time.

Nowhere Men #4

By Eric Stephenson, Nate Bellegarde, Jordie Bellaire, Fonografiks

Though the Fantastic Four origin has been parodied and updated a number of times, Nowhere Men is easily the most compelling response to that legacy in all the decades since, free of pastiche and brimming with spectacular body horror.

The Manhattan Projects #10

By Jonathan Hickman, Ryan Browne, Jordie Bellaire

That time Joseph Oppenheimer ate Robert Oppenheimer and Robert Oppenheimer woke up in the iris of his brother’s stone visage.

Thor: God of Thunder #6

By Jason Aaron, Butch Guice, Tom Palmer, Ive Svorcina

Volstagg is almost always employed as comic relief. Here, the once rotund Asgardian proves he’s still voluminous after centuries of slavery and tons of weight loss.

Batman & Robin #18

By Peter J. Tomasi, Pat Gleason, Mick Gray

Batman grieves a little differently than the rest of us.

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #6

By Len Wein, Jae Lee

I’m a little over the Lovecraft thing these days, but these particular tentacles (arms, technically) belong to a particularly notorious comic book icon. This reveal is about as perfect as it gets.

Actually there are issues in April and May, they just don’t deal with The Oppenheimer Civil War. One follows up on the team’s new status quo, and the next is a Fermi-centric issue. That’s according to Image’s website though, which isn’t always reliable.

What a gorgeous book. I tend to complain that I don’t have enough time to read all the comics I like, but this is one that I wanted to just sit with and look at over and over again. Painful and beautiful. (Way to go, Patrick Gleason.)

I picked up Batman #18 and Batman and Robin #18, and found both, especially the latter, to be engaging, emotional, and some truly fantastic work in storytelling. I only got Batman Inc. #8 digitally, but I’m tempted to buy the physical copy just so I own it in my hand to effectively serve as the precursor to everything that was put out in the Bat-books this month.

I rode out “Moon Knight” strictly because Maleev seemed to be getting his groove back. And damn, that “Batman” panel… I’m happy to see him back with more of a Tommy Lee Edwards look than the gritty Salvador Larocca/Greg Land style we saw in “Spider-Woman” & “Scarlet”…

Great panels, I loved the silent Batman and Robin issue and those two panels are great, especially Kuberts change of tone with different art to suit the tone, Resolve/Requiem was a good closure. I also think Harper will be the next Robin as a nod to the female Robin in Dark Knight Returns for one and she’s perfect, he may be reluctant after losing another Robin (even though he’s back as Red Hood anyway) but she said “you know can’t stop me” and love that’s she told him Batman cant die,she doesn’t care whos under the mask & she doesn’t want Batman to be a person, Batman’s an idea…that’s awesome cause that’s the way he sees it. She has similar qualities to Carrie Young/Robin from DKR and yeah they have a female Earth-2 Robin now but there hasn’t been a main DCU one, Harpers it.
Other panels were great too, I love Magiks role in UX too & love seeing Jae Lee drawing the other Watchmen, and that is a great moment, almost wish he drew em all except Minutemen cause Darwynn Cooke is perfect for for that era’s look & feel, he wrote a great mini full of insight to Watchmens JSA. I thought all the BW series started off slow but all picked up the pace with well rounded stories and the other artists are all stellar, just love Jae Lee’s style. Nowhere Men is great.